


The Quiet Between Conversation

by TheQueen



Series: How We Come Home [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, Alternate Universe - Post-War, Canon Compliant, Everyone Has Issues, Everyone Needs A Hug, Gen, POV Lance (Voltron), Post-War, Team Bonding, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-22
Updated: 2018-04-22
Packaged: 2019-04-26 10:23:54
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 991
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14400168
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheQueen/pseuds/TheQueen
Summary: Everyone heals at their own pace. Pidge and Lance learn how to balance.A commission





	The Quiet Between Conversation

Lance comes home to find Pidge perched precariously on his countertop, kicking up dust as she banged her heel rhythmically against his cabinets, a steady warbeat, and thoroughly engrossed in her phone in a way that meant she was either losing a video game or hacking into the Pentagon or worse… the universal council. 

(She’d promised to stop doing that after Allura threw her tablet at Pidge after three hours of nyan cat. A classic but classics were classics for a reason.)

“How’d you know I’d be home?” Lance asks. 

“Please,” Pidge says not even looking up from her phone. 

“How’d you get into my house?” Lance asks, dropping his keys in the ceramic bowl Keith had sent him last Christmas from India when he’d been stuck doing press junkets for the new New United Nations. 

“Please,” Pidge smirks.

Lance laughs and draws a smiley face on the repurposed nightstand he used as an intable -- six months had left a significant layer -- before dropping his bag on the sofa and ripping open the curtains to let sunlight filter in, “You know that’s not an answer right.”

Pidge’s smirk grows. When she looks at him, she seems genuinely happy to see him. “We’re going to dinner tonight.”

“We are?” Lance asks, turning away to open the windows.

“We are,” Pidge promises. “All of us. Even Coran is in town.” 

“Good,” Lance sighs. He takes a deep breath of fresh Earth air and closes his eyes. He’ll have to hire a cleaner. His apartment nearly unusable in this state. He doesn’t want to consider what crap Pidge had been breathing in waiting for him. Maybe crash at Hunk’s tonight if Hunk’ll let him and his new girlfriend number 10 or 12 doesn’t mind. “I’ve missed everyone.”

There is a long, uneasy moment of silence that has Lance sighing. “Pidge…”

She’s not looking at him. 

“I didn’t leave because of you,” Lance finally says.

Pidge shrugs, “I asked you to stay and you didn’t…” she drops down onto the sofa while Lance stands by the TV still not looking at him. “I can take a hint you know. You didn’t have to go off planet.”

Another moment of awkward silence. Another moment of not looking at each other. 

“Let’s go out,” Lance finally says, grabbing his coat and his gloves because Spring is coming but winter hasn’t released it’s claws just yet. “I want coffee. You want coffee?”

Pidge smiles and accepts the olive branch. “I love coffee.”

.

The starbucks is overcrowded, preemptively cool for the coming summer, yet still pleasantly warm to fight off the winds outside. The bodies of tired pre-final students and overworked adults make themselves snug in the corners of the Paris-esque cafe. 

“I think my fingers have frozen,” Pidge whines, blowing puffs of hot air over ruby skin. 

“You’ll live,” Lance promises stepping into line. “Get us a table?”

“What! Nooooo,” Pidge cries. “Lance we can’t stay here. It’s flu season. I don’t want to get sick.” 

Around them some people were starting to notice. Pidge had never bothered to hide who she was. Her small stature and rebellious hair style hadn’t changed with time. Even before they’d returned to Earth, the stories of the Holts had aired for years on and off as the investigation against the Garrison and, when Mr. Hott had returned childless, against the aliens had discovered something new. 

Lance had tried to hide. During the war he had longed for normalcy for so long that afterwards he had taken to wearing wigs to try and reclaim some of it. But the scarring along his neck and cheek was iconic, a mark earned in the final battle on Earth against the Galra Empire. The video of the Paladins sprinting to embrace each other had become an icon image, playing for weeks afterwards and now on the anniversary at the end of the war. Lance’s face, a bleeding mess had been preserved for all time in high definition. 

“Besides,” Pidge says quietly as someone starts discretely filming. “I thought you didn’t do crowds?” 

"I'm getting better," Lance shrugs and does his best to ignore the flash of a camera. He wonders if they’re trending on Twitter before choosing not to dwell on it. His therapist and his mother had been pretty insistent that worrying didn’t help. "Have to get it used to it all eventually right?"   
  
"And the leaving?" Pidge prompts, a challenge in her voice, “Does that help?”

Lance takes a deep breath and shuffles forward as the line moves. In this warmly lit cafe there is no escaping this conversation. “Yeah…” he looks her in the eye. “It does. Earth is just one small piece of it all now. Seeing the universe at peace is helpful. It reminds me why we did what we did.”

Pidge doesn’t say anything. After a moment she looks away unable to meet his eyes.

“It’s not personal,” Lance repeats. “I don’t do it because I don’t love you guys. I don’t do it because I don’t understand you need us close. I’m sorry I can’t be there for you right now. Maybe one day…”

“No,” Pidge sighs. They’re nearing the front of the line. Their voices barely above a murmur and in the chatter of the room their conversation is lost to any eavesdroppers. “I’m not being fair… I know I’m not. It’s stupid to insist you deal with things my way. After the war Keith fucked off for weeks wandering the desert. Shiro beat every punching bag into submission. Hunk’s falling in love more and more often. We’re all still dealing with it…. If you need space from all of it, from us,”  _ from me, _ “then I need to respect that.”

“I know you care,” Lance promises. The woman in front of them is ordering. “I’ll try and visit more often.”

Pidge smiles and accepts the olive branch that defines their friendship, “I can work with that.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for your support littlebird12j! I really enjoyed writing this story. Pidge and Lance's friendship is so important to me. 
> 
> As always please let me know what you think in the comments below. 
> 
> Also if you like my work please check out my tumblr: https://thequeen117.tumblr.com/ (I'm super close to my next follower milestone!!)
> 
> And if you want to check out my other Pidge & Lance works in particular please check out my series Forge:  
> https://archiveofourown.org/series/997158


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